Is A Heart Rate Monitor Right For You?
By Fern Kuhn
Editor's Summary: A good description of what a heart
rate monitor can measure for you during your workout at home or
the gym or outdoors. This article will help you decide if a heart
rate monitor is right for you.
Exercise equipment, like Bowflex, Body by Jake etc., has advanced
dramatically over the last 10 years. With the new technology, you
can run on your treadmill at home and then slide it under your bed
as a space saver. As a matter of fact, you can go to the, choose
a program that will do just about everything for you, except exercise
for you. Even with the smarter machines, more people still are not
reaching their exercise goals. Why is that? The reason is because
they were never shown how to exercise the proper way.
The “no pain no gain” concept is still alive in most gyms and even
in the home. That concept makes a majority of people feel that exercise
is just too hard. Does that sound maybe the way you think?
You put your time in either at the gym or on your home exercise
equipment, but you just can't seem to reach your goal or lose those
last few pounds. And it's not because you're not trying. Are you
sure are that you are exercising according to your goals you want
to achieve? If not, a heart rate monitor just maybe what you need
to get the results you looking for.
Let’s explain how a heart rate monitor can help you:
**In order to reach the goals you are trying to achieve, then you
will need to exercise at the right intensity.
**The heart rate monitor is really the only accurate type of measurement
for your intensity or your exertion level.
What you need is a heart rate monitor that is the easiest the most
accurate way to continuously measure your heart rate.
Actually, a heart rate monitor is just a tool that will help set
your pace. If you're exercising too hard, you will most likely quits
before you really get the benefits. You must know somebody who gets
on a treadmill, takes it up to a high gear for two minutes and gets
off. Now they're exhausted and what they did was waste two minutes.
Two minutes is not enough time on a treadmill.
That's where a heart rate monitor comes in. It paces you to do
any kind of work out. It's almost like having a personal trainer
that tells you or speed up or slow down. It also helps you change
your workouts and use different activities so you don't get bored.
Right now do you know if you're getting similar workouts from a
treadmill or weight circuit training or just jumping rope?
You probably would not be able to tell because it's not how you
feel or even how much are sweating. But your heart rate can tell
you. With a heart rate monitor, you can be sure that you're working
out at the right intensity no matter what kind of activity you choose
whether you are running on a treadmill, jumping rope, skating, hiking...
these all can be part of an effective program. Now you can tell
all kind of workout is working. The heart rate monitor makes that
possible.
If you are just new to exercise and you go to the gym, then you
have to try and figure out what to do you get on an exercise equipment
such as a treadmill. It will ask you for your level, speed, incline
but you have no idea what to code in.
With a heart rate monitor all you have to figure out is your 60%
to 70% target zone. Program it into your heart rate monitor. Start
your treadmill. Then you can increase the level, the speed or whatever
you are doing and your heart rate stays in that zone. It just takes
the guesswork out of exercise and gives you the confidence to know
that you were doing it right and benefiting.
Copyright 2005 Fern Kuhn, RN
Specializing in Diabetes
http://www.heartratemonitorcenter.info
http://www.diabetestestingcenter.com
You may reprint this article as long as you keep the links active
|
